LAHORE – The state-run hospitals have fallen short of medicines while the health facilities have started charging indoor and outdoor patients for tests.
Patients have been making a litany of complaints to authorities concerned but to no avail.
According to sources, the Punjab Health Department had directed hospital managements to manage from their own resources.
“Following these instruction, the management of these hospitals have started charge fee for medical tests, including blood tests, ultrasound tests and X-rays, ” the sources added.
According to sources, from Rs100 to Rs250 is being charged for X-ray, Rs150 for ultrasound, blood tests etc.
Around 20,000 patients visit OPDs of the city hospitals, a majority of them is poor segment of society and are unable to pay fees for the tests.
Jinnah Hospital MS Dr Fazalur Rehman confirmed that there is shortage of medicines and added that they (management) have prioritised the purchase of medicines.
However, some other hospitals’ management denied.
DENGUE DRIVE: The Social Welfare Department started a checklist survey for dengue at Fatima Jinnah road here on first day of awareness drive.
Deputy District Officer Sidra Zakir Butt told APP that she was supervising the campaign under University of Central Punjab Project No 6.
She further said that under the project, six students of the University had provided awareness to 60 residences and 25 shopkeepers at Fatima Jinnah road during the campaign.
STAFF REPORTER ADDS: Punjab Health Secretary Arif Nadeem has constituted a four-member committee comprising medical experts for probing outbreak of swine flu in Rawalpindi.
The committee will scrutinise record of Holy Family Hospital and submit report within three days after technical analysis of the situation.
Health Communicable Disease Control Director Dr Mubashir Malik will head the committee also comprising EDO (Health) Rawalpindi Dr Zafar Gondal, Associate Professor Rawalpindi Medical College, Dr M Khurram and Medical Officer of Directorate General Health Services Dr Muhammad Younis.
The secretary has also directed all public sector hospitals to adopt precautionary measures against swine flu in accordance with the guidelines issued by the health department. The department has also provided preventive kits and special dresses to all the hospitals for the doctors and paramedics. Furthermore, necessary medicines for treatment of swine flu patients have also been made available at all the hospitals.